Improvement in drying-houses



` 4Sheets-4Sheet3. S. CRAVEN.

. DRYINcI-HOUSE. l N0 179,Z75 Patented June 27,1876.

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UNITED SA'rsEs Para OFFICE.

SAMUEL W. CRAVEN, OF COBDEN, LLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT lN'DRVlNG-HOUSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 179,275, dated June 27,1876; application filed August 7, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, SAMUEL W. GRAVEN, of Gobden, in the county of Unionand State of Illinois, have invented a new and valuable Improvement inDry-Houses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the construction and operation of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, and to the letters and figures of reference markedthereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of a transverse verticalsection of my dryhouse, and Fig. 2 is a front view of the same. Fig. 3is a longitudinal vertical sectional view thereof, and Fig. 4 is a sideview, part sectional. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views.

My invention relates to dry-houses particularly for drying fruit; and itconsists in the construction and novel arrangement of the dry-house,provided with sliding frames, employed, in connection with yieldingsliding rack or latch bars, for raising the trays, springs, and pivotedgravitating-latches, for

supporting the trays, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents a furnace, of any suitableconstruction, upon which the dry-house B is erected. In the front ofthis house is a bottom door, C, and top door C', as shown; and near eachside is a vertical partition, a, extending from the top to near thebottom b, said bottom being made of sheet metal, and separating thedry-house from the furnace.

By means ot' the partitions4 ct thereis thus formed a chamber, B', alongeach side of the dry-house, in which is a sliding frame, D, which framesare suspended by chains e e from a shaft, E, passing through the upperpart of the dry-house, and having a crank or handle, E', at one end, forturning the same.

' To each frame D are connected two upright latch-bars, d d, which areheld outward through slots in the partitions a a by means of springs ff. In these partitions are also arranged vertical series ofgravitating-latches h h, which are pivoted at their lower ends, andtheir up* per ends fall by their own gravity inward into thedrying-chamber. r'he frames D D being lowered, the latches d and ltcorrespondthat is, they are on horizontal lines with each other. Thelower front door G being opened, one tray, G, may be inserted, andsupported upon the lower sets of latches d h, two of each kind on eachside.

By means ot' the windlass E E the frames D and latch-bars d are raisedvertically, lifting the tray G over the next set otgravitatinglatches h,which fold backward to allow the tray to pass; and as soon as the tra-yhas passed them, they fall inward again of their own gravity to supportthe tray. The frames D then fall again, the latch-bars d yielding topass the tray. A second tray is then put in on the tirst set of'latch-bars, and then the two elevated in the same mannerasdescribed forthe first, and so on till the fruitori the rst tray is thoroughly dried,when said tray is removed through the upper front door C.

Along each side ot` the dry-house is a series of Ventilating-slides, 1I, one or more of which may be opened to admit the required quantity ofcold air to regulate the temperature. J J are chimneys, through whichthe vapors escape. K is a thermometer in the side of the dry-house, toshow the state ot' the temperature therein.

Vhat l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination, with the frames D, of the latch-bars d, springs f, andthe pivoted gravitat-ing-latches It, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth. y

In testimony that I claim the above AI have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL W. CRAVEN.

Witnesses L. T. LINNELL, O. T. PIERCE.

